


Heaven Can Wait

by mila2



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dogs, Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Fluff, Hannigram - Freeform, Heaven, Humor, M/M, One Shot, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 07:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17463257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mila2/pseuds/mila2
Summary: Will throws himself and Hannibal over the cliff. There is darkness, then a light at the end of the tunnel, and... dogs? So many dogs! This must be Heaven!





	Heaven Can Wait

**Author's Note:**

> Somebody posted a photo in one of my Facebook Hannigram groups, which inspired this whole idea. It began as a quick comment... and ended up deserving to be its own fic. My first Hannibal fic ever. Enjoy!

 

Will holds onto Hannibal and, after another moment of hesitation, throws them both over the edge of the cliff.

He feels wind rushing through him, cold and sharp as glass. The awful sinking feeling of falling, inevitably towards his death. His, and the man's in his arms.

He holds the older man tighter, and then tighter still against his chest. Will holds him as close as he can, wishing absurdly that they could merge together, blend into one person.

He mourns what they could have been, feeling his heart swell impossibly large within his chest. Will feels an all-encompassing tenderness for the man in his arms, along with so many jumbled feelings that he cannot even begin to process, nor has the time to try.

They are falling, and he feels Hannibal's arms clutching onto him just as desperately. His larger, stronger body is Will's only source of warmth right now, as cold surrounds him. Hannibal's embrace conveys, in pure silence, an array of things that words could never hope to say.

A sob escapes Will’s throat. He wishes that they’d had this kind of intimacy before. But there was never a right time for them. There will never be. 

This world was not meant for the two of them. Not together, nor alone. This is why he had jumped in the first place. It was the only way.

The fall seems to last an eternity, but he knows it's only been moments. It won't last long enough! Will gasps, a surge of adrenaline zapping through him, a sudden hunger for life. He shouldn't have jumped! He wants more - more of life, more of Hannibal. More dogs, more laughter, more simple joy, more peace and breathing and just… being. More of Will Graham, what he had the potential of being. More of... everything! But now it’s too late. 

The teacup was about to shatter, and it was irreversible.

Will hears more than feels a loud crash, then cutting cold is spreading to every inch of his body, inside and out, stealing all his remaining warmth. He keeps going down, down, down… then nothing, darkness.

Will wakes, and there is no more pain, no sorrow, no fear. He is totally at peace. He sees a tunnel, and light at the end of it. He feels his face contorting into a half-smile, half-grimace. "How clichéd," he mutters out loud - or at least he thinks he does.

He looks around, already reaching out his hand to take Hannibal's, but the other man is not there. Will frowns, but before he has a chance to worry, he hears a bark beyond the tunnel. And another.

"A stray!" he thinks, and instinct takes over. Before he knows it, his legs are rushing him over towards the end of the dark path, worried that a poor dog must have been abandoned there and is scared. He has to help, of course.

Once he reaches the end of the tunnel, his eyes adjust to the light outside and he can finally see. His eyes go wide with surprise and joy. Doggies! Lots of dogs! About 30 of them looking up at him, grouped together. Around them and beyond is the most beautiful, green, lush forest. There is probably even more dogs beyond his line of sight. Will laughs, overjoyed. He realized he hadn’t felt this carefree in a long time.

He begins to recognize them, one by one: there is Noa, and Sally and Maxi, his beloved old dogs. They had died a while ago, but this fact did not alarm him as it should. Over there is little Tony, who had died all mangled up, run over by a car - but he looks absolutely fine now, whole and healthy. There is Frankie, the neighbor's dog who lived next to his trailer in Louisiana. He used to adore Will, and was adored right back by the little boy who desperately wanted a dog and was not allowed to have one. There are several others whose names he didn't know or remember, but who he'd met at some point in his life.

Is he in Heaven? He must be! Will laughed again. If there was a Heaven, this is what it would be like!

The dogs are all very excited about seeing him again, waving their tails and barking, as if saying hello. Some watch him expectantly, as if calling him forth, while others jump around in poorly contained glee.

Will is about to take that final step to exit the tunnel. He will crouch and hug them all and-

"-Will!"

The sound is faint, so faint he isn’t sure he’s really heard it. He shushes the dogs to be quiet, so he can pay attention.

"Will!" That's Hannibal's voice, he's sure of it. It's coming from somewhere inside the tunnel, or beyond it.

"Hannibal!" He shouts back. He looks around, half-expecting to see the man in there somewhere. Nothing.

Will shakes his head and laughs derisively at himself. If this is really Heaven, Hannibal would never be caught dead here. Literally. This was not his kind of place. Even if the doctor wanted to, whatever higher forces govern this place would never allow him in, given the sadistic-serial-killer-cannibal thing he has going on. 

Hannibal is surely calling Will all the way from Hell. Surely there is plenty of rude people there, for his friend to cook in its many fiery pits. Knowing Hannibal, the man is probably planning his next dinner party already.

"Will!" the voice calls out again. There is a distinct begging tone to it, which Will had never heard from the man before.

Will has no choice. 

Well - he does. But what good would be a Heaven full of dogs and gorgeous nature and wonderful solitude, but no Hanni? Not worth it.

Will takes one more wistful look at the dogs. "Sorry buddies; maybe in another life. Or... whatever". He turns and runs back into the tunnel, towards the voice, only guided by the insistent voice... until blackness takes him over again.

His consciousness returns suddenly, and it’s quite a shock. He is being shaken, he is choking, it's freezing cold and his entire body hurts, it's agony! He turns sideways and vomits salty water, heaving, desperate to catch a breath.

"There you go, mylimasis. There you go. Good job," a gentle voice tells him, as steady hands hold his sides.

He is half-leaning, half-laying against something large, hard and sharp. A big rock? He feels small waves crashing against him, water reaching him waist high. With effort he manages to open his eyes slowly, to see maroon, watery eyes hovering above, watching him with... pain? Concern? Relief?

"Han?" Will manages to say, his voice barely there.

"Oh, Will!" comes the choked reply. Will feels himself being pulled up and tugged tightly against Hannibal's strong body, the older man's face buried in his neck. "I thought I had lost you." One did not need to be an empath to feel the emotion coming off in waves from the man.

"You were not there with the doggies," Will rasps. "I couldn't stay without you." 

Hannibal pulls back from Will's neck and gazes lovingly at his face, gently smoothing a curl of his hair away. The tenderness on his face is solid, real. It’s beautiful. He leans in and places a gentle, chaste kiss on Will's lips.

Despite of all the pain and confusion, this is too precious to be Hell. "Are we alive?" Will asks, his brow furrowing.

Hannibal chuckles, cradling his face with a large, gentle hand. "Yes, mylimasis, we are. Very much alive."

 

THE END


End file.
